Presented by: Entertainment Network 4 U
Edited by Sean Tee (Gold Code)
Produced by Zach Yue
Narrated by James Henderson
A student made documentary exploring the money that can earned through eSports. This documentary is meant to educate and influence the older generation(mainly focused in New Zealand).Filled with stats and insight about the eSports genre as a whole.
Two teams of players battling it out for their fans for the reputations and for the glory that comes with victory.
This won't be an unfamiliar concept to you but instead of shooting hoops or scoring goals these athletes do something a little different they play video games.
Welcome to the world of eSports.
It's a multimillion-dollar competitive gaming industry you probably never even heard about but the sport that shows players fighting on their favourite video games or erivals that of established sports of like football and golf and rugby in terms of prize money and viewership.(- James Henderson, narrator).
Every year millions of people tune in to watch their favourite players battle it out for the championship whether it's from the comfort of their homes or live in the stadium from the commentators analysing amazing plays to the exciting pressurized atmosphere the fans create it's a special intensity that comes from watching people play the games you know and love, for professional players themselves gaming is a way of life and a career one that can potentially make millions and in the heat of the moment with routing fans watching from all the way around the globe any strategic decision-making they make could possibly cash pop them into fame and glory or better defeat this is competitive gaming.
For many gaming is nothing more than a hobby a brief escape from reality but in places like South Korea promising new individuals are competing in tournaments with prize money worth millions of dollars and successful life with global superstar awaits.
This life can include things like team signups brand deals and signing autographs to millions of fans but the road and fame and fortune doesn't come easy to prove they have what it takes players must train from about 8 to 14 hours a day honing the mechanical skills and the analytical skills they spend almost every waking moment of their lives going over their skills in the video game and talking with the game coordinators and coaches about how to best approach the next one the pressure on these young people can be immense, but if you do go through it a prize at the end is definitely worth it.
Take Lee Sang-hyeok for example better known to his supporters as Faker often considered to be the best in the world for what he does Faker is also is already being considered among the great of the greats in sports such as Michael Jordan for his amazing ability in the online game League of Legends first starting out from humble beginnings in 2013 Faker quickly moved his way up to the ranks through determination skill and for about four years he became one of the world's top players he has already made of millions and millions of US dollars in terms of prize money and this doesn't even count the money he makes from sponsorship deals and Twitch streaming.
Incomes of the size rival those of professional athletes and actors and for good reason eSports players put just as much effort and what they do as people in other professions. And Faker is among those who have proven themselves to be one of the best of the best, a new breed of global athlete.
So we've covered the players the people determined to make money off of video games but the biggest problem with eSports is the spectator sport is with people actually watch it or not. Well, it turns out quite a few people do in 2017 a study behind eSports show that 385 million people view the sport with split up to about 191 million constant viewers and a 194 million occasional views.
And this is a huge number of people especially if you consider the measly four and a half billion population of New Zealand, and the statistic follows the trend of the past couple of years then by 2020 it is expected that the viewership will go 200 million making the total 585 million to give you an example of the numbers the 2016 League of Legends world championship was watched by 43 million people.
And by the way had a cash prize of over 7 million New Zealand Dollars there's something for everyone, in the eSports industry, from shooting games to fighting games or strategy games or sport racing games to MOBAs and even to card games.
Perhaps the most fascinating and surprising thing about eSports industry is a study done into the eSports countries found that about 42% of people don't actually play the games that they watch as strange as it may sound game developers have already taken advantage of this fact and realized that a game presented in the eSports industry brings in a whole lot more money due to the attention that it grabs with the aim of appealing to current fans and reaching out to new ones next generation games are constantly being made by game developers with the intention of each one to be trying to become the next eSports gaming head, so back to the economy of eSports as a whole.
In 2017 the industry is already expected to be worth a huge $975 million which is a huge increase by 40% from previous year's different brands and companies will be investing a total 725 million dollars into this industry divided into around $250 million on advertising $375 million sponsorship deals and further $135 million on media rights, which are the right two show eSports content on the channel.
This brand investment which is comprised of sponsorship deals media rights and advertising is expected to double by 2020 in addition to this game developers, which we touched on before will be investing a further $165 million through partnerships with the event organizers as the spectators themselves, well their spending is expected to go up to about $89 million which comprises through event tickets and merchandise keep in mind that none of these statistics include money made through betting which could potentially be even bigger than the eSports economy.
So watching other people play video games that's eSports for you and whether you like it or not this industry is only going to get bigger as technology improves and better games come out the industry that involves people gaming for a living is only going to go upwards and keep in mind that being a player isn't the only way to make money in this world.
The eSports industry offers opportunities of both economically and in the entertainment industry and the business and the advertising and many other avenues. So what do you think do you accept and approve of this new industry. Would you even consider becoming a professional player yourself? But I suppose that question is kind of irrelevant. I think the biggest question is would you watch the video games?
